Card holder and protector



March 19, 1935.

F. H. PIETZSCH ET AL CARD HOLDER AND PROTECTOR Filed Jan. 7, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l DEF ET CARD l9 nfavmmm Inventors F. H. Pietzsch F. K. Habenicht pbell March 19, 1935. I F. H. PIETZSCH ET AL CARD HOLDER AND PROTECTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. '7, 1935 Inventors F, H. Pietzsch F. K. Habenicht S. Cam bell By g p Att'y.

March 1 F. H. PIETZSCH ET AL 1,995,040

CARD HOLDER AND PROTECTOR Filed Jan. 7, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.11.

A.R.A. DEFECT CARD Car syuifiul btlow will be rueive afn-l ainhnihix (olnfany'; line wi liv the fnllawinq Jefecfs.

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Inventors Patented Mar. 19, 1935 cam HOLDER- AND PROTECTOR Frank H. Pietzsch, Frederick K. Habenicht, and Sterling H. Campbell, St. Louis, Mo., assignors to Railway Devices Company, corporation of Missouri St. Louis, Mo., a

'Al plication January 7, 1933, Serial No. 650,630

3 Claims.

Our invention relates to a holder and protector for cards and particularly for use in connection with what are known as A. R. A. defect cards. In accordance with railway regulations, such a card, of standard form and dimensions, must be attached to any car which is in a defective condition. Heretofore such cards have been attached by nailing or tacking them to some part of the underframe of the car. of attachment inconvenient but as the written matter specifying the nature of the defect or defects is exposed to the action of the elements, if often becomes partly or wholly illegible so that the card fails to accomplish the object for which it was designed.

It is the object of our invention to provide .a holder so as to avoid the necessity of using nails or tacks to secure the card in position, the holder being so constructed that it will, in addition to holding the card, protect the written message on the card from the actionof the elements, and at the same time expose a portion of the card so that inspection of the holder will immediately indicate whether or not it contains a defect card.

As the card is preferably placed on the underframe of the car where the light is dim, it is often diflicult to locate. vention is, therefore, to provide the holder with a light dispersing reflector to facilitate the location of the holder.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some forms of holder made in accordance with our invention, Figure 1 is a vertical section through the underframe of a car to which our holder is attached; Figure 2 is anenlarg'ed end view of the holder shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Figure 2; Figure 4 a front elevation of a modified form of holder Figure 5is anenlarged. section taken on the line 5'-5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a front elevation of a further modification; Figure '7 is a section taken on the line 7- 7 of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a front elevation of a still further modification; Figured is an enlarged section taken on the line 99 of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a section taken on the line 10-10 of Figure 9; and Figure 11 is a plan view of the card which the holders are adapted to accommodate.

Referring first to Figures 1, 2 and 3, 1 indicates the flooring, 2 the siding. 3 aside sill, and 4 a center sill of a railway car. Extending between the sills 3 and 4 is a transverse board 5 forming a support to which the holder is attached by nails or screws '7. The holder is formed of two pieces of sheet metal the inner of which consists Not only is this method A further object of our inof a pair of laterally extending flanges 8, a pair of flanges 9 projecting at right angles therefrom, and a connecting web 10. The'flanges 9 are tapered so as to separate the front end vof thesweb from the support sufliciently to permit the insertion of a finger orthumbto grasp the end of an enclosed card through a recess 11 in theweb. At each side of the recess 11 is a looking lip.12 formed by turning upa portion of the web and preferably strengthened by an em bossed rib 13. The outer portion of the holder consists of a pair of flanges 14 overlying the flanges 8 and secured thereto by bent-overclips' l5, flanges 16 lying against the flanges 9, and a web 1'7 spaced from the web 10 to; form a card receptacle. The forward end of the .web 17 is arched so as to form, with the curved outer edges of the lips 12, an arcuate opening for the insertion of the card and is'provided with a recess 18,registering with the recess '11. In order to stiffen the web 17, We form therein embossed reinforcing beads 19, a part of which at least are in the form of lettering indicative of the purpose of the holder. Attached to the web 17, preferably at the end opposite. that at which the card is inserted, is a light dispersing reflector 20. This reflector, in theform'shown, consists of a piece of glass having a convex top which may be either plain, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, or faceted, as shown'inFigures 4 and 5. In either case the reflector will disperse the light striking it so as to be conspicuous when viewed from. various angles. The rear end ,of the holder is tapered to a width less. than that of the card to provide openings 21 through which the corners of the card 22 project, as shown-in full lines in Figure l and in dotted lines in Figures 4 and 6.

To insert the card in the holder it is bent into curved form in transverse direction so that its end will conform in shape to the arcuate opening between the front end of the web 17 and the edges of the lips 12 and forced into the pocket, formed between the two webs. When the card has been completely inserted in. the pocket, its reflex movement will position its forward end behind the locking lips 12. The card is thus effectively locked in the pocket against accidental removal and can only be withdrawn by forcing it up against the concave inner face of the web 1'7 to cause it to assume a form corresponding in shape to the arcuate openingthrough which it is insertedand withdrawn. The portion of the card between recesses 11 and 18, may now be grasped between the thumb and finger and the card withdrawn.

In case the portion of the card exposed through the recess becomes torn by repeated insertion and removal thereof, it may be removed by inserting the finger further into the pocket and pressing the card against the inner face of web 17 while at the same time forcing the card out of the holder by means of the exposedrear corners. These corners, therefore, serve the double purpose of indicating the presence of the card in the holder and providing means forfacilitating the removal of the card.

As the written matter specifying the defects of the car is on the dotted line 23 (Figure 11) located in the central part of the card, it is effectively protected against exposure to the elements and remains legible while the presence of a card in the holder is indicated both by the projecting corners at the rear end and by the portion exposed .by the recess 18 at the front end.

In Figures 4 and 5 we have shown a modification in which the locking lips are dispensed with,

being replaced by a supporting bracket 24. In this form of the holder, the opening for the insertion of the card is straight instead of arcuate but is positioned out of the plane of the pocket and connected therewith by a curved throat 25 so that the insertion of the card automatically flexes it but in a direction at right angles to that necessary to insert it in the first described form of holder. When the card is fully insertedin this form of holder, its forward end remains flexed. The tendency of the card to straighten out, causes it to contact firmly with the lower web along one line and with the upper web along another line so that the card is retained in the holder by frictional contact with the webs.

In Figures ,6 and '7 we have shown a further modification in which the card is inserted from the side of the holder instead of from the end.

In this form of holder the card is'automatically flexed by insertion through a curved throat'25 but friction is not depended upon to retain the card as the holder is provided with looking lips 12 behind which the edge of the card is positioned by reflex action. While in this form the upper and lower plates may be secured together in'the' same manner as previously described, we have shown a slightly different construction in which lugs'26 carried on the lower plate are passed 1 through slots in the upper plate and bent over to fastenv the parts together.

In Figures 8, 9 and 10 we have shown'a still further modification which is particularly adapted foruse under conditions where it is necessary to accommodate several cards in the holder at the same time. In this form the flanges 9 and 16 are uniform in width throughout their length so that the webs l0 and 17 are parallel with the support and both ends of the holder are provided with lips 12, the upper edges of which are curved outwardly. The outer web 17 is shorter than the card and is provided at each end with a U-shaped bend 2'7 to form a guide way for the upturned end 28 of a plate 29 between'which and the web 10 the card or cards are held by the tension of a spring 30 having its central part secured to the plate and its ends bearing against the inner face of the web 17. In order to provide additional support for the web 10, a portion of the material removed to form the recesses-ll may be bent over to form feet 31. To insert the card in this form of holder it is placed in the position indicated by dotted lines at the right hand end of Figure 9 and forced endwise. The pressure of the end of the card upon the rounded end of the plate 29 will raise the plate against the tension of the spring suificiently to permit the card to pass between the plate and the web 10 until its end comes in contact with the lips 12 at the opposite end which acts as a stop to limit the movement of'the card, after which the end of the card is allowed to spring behind the lips 12 at the end at which it is inserted.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A railway car defect card holder and protector including a sheath for enclosing a card and covering approximately the entire area of both faces thereof, said sheath being provided with an opening out of the plane of the sheath for the insertion and removal of the card, and an enclosed passage way in the-form of a reversed curve connecting said opening with the sheath, one wall of the passage way engaging and deflecting corners of the card when it is inserted and the other wall engaging and deflecting corners of the card when it is removed.v

2. A railway car defect card and holder and protector therefor comprising a sheath formed of front andrear. walls, said walls protecting substantially the entire area of both faces of a card positioned inthe sheath, 2. portion of both walls being'deflected out of the plane of the sheath to provide a space behind the deflected portion, the walls of the sheath being cut out to permit manual removal of the card, said deflected portions of the walls being approximately parallel and both extending substantially to the edge of the card.

3..A railway car defect card and holder and protector therefor comprising a'sheath formed of front and rear walls, said walls protecting substantially the entire area of both faces of a card positioned in the sheath, a portion of both walls being deflected out of the plane of the sheath to provide a space behind the deflected portion to permit manual removal of the card, said deflected portions of the walls being approximately parallel and both-extending substantially to the edge of the card, the deflected portions of the walls being FRANK H. PIETZSCI-I. FREDERICK K. HABENICHT. STERLING CAMPBELL. 

